Director David Lean earned his reputation as a great filmmaker with his 1946 adaptation of Charles Dickens’ GREAT EXPECTATIONS. Lean had the difficult task of condensing Dickens’ freewheeling prose into a tight narrative that worked cinematically while maintaining the author’s distinctive voice. Lean succeeded. The film was a huge hit in the UK and the US, and it won Academy Awards for Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction.
In today’s franchise-driven Hollywood landscape it makes sense that Lean would go on to direct another Dickens adaptation after GREAT EXPECTATIONS. But, at the time, reports of Lean’s new project, OLIVER TWIST, disappointed critics and industry insiders. How could Lean possibly replicate the success of GREAT EXPECTATIONS?
With OLIVER TWIST, Lean was able to manipulate the narrative to suit the needs of the film. There are significant omissions from the novel, as well as new directions that more strongly center Oliver as the protagonist.
Though the film lacks Dickens’ satirical edge, it makes up for it with daring cinematography that conveys the tight spaces and bleak circumstances of Victorian London.
What Lean could not get away from, however, is Dickens’ characterization of Fagin. The film was initially banned in the US on the grounds of antisemitism — and to modern audiences, Alec Guinness’ Fagin may be an uncomfortable sight.
Despite this, the film is one of the best contributions to a long line of Dickens adaptations.
— Diana Martinez, Film Streams Education Director
